1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to electronic devices. More particularly, the present invention relates to electronic devices with user interface capabilities.
2. Description of the Related Art
Electronic devices are increasingly providing services that rely on user input. These services include short messaging, electronic mail (e-mail), Internet web navigation, and the addition of local data such as phonebook entries or calendar appointments. The current trends in the industry of such added functionality coupled with size reduction provide conflicting requirements to device designers and manufacturers. For example, many of today's electronic devices' small size dictate a limited set of input keys and small, low-resolution displays. Such devices do not have enough space to provide adequate user input mechanisms to support the added functionality.
Today, some electronic devices such as mobile telephone handsets include a dual-state keypad in which each numbered key corresponds to a unique sequence of letters or symbols. Multitap input involves entering a particular letter by pushing the corresponding numbered key a certain number of times depending on what position the desired letter is in the sequence of that key. More efficient methods of data input utilize anticipated text entry methods in which the user enters a particular letter by simply pushing the corresponding key once, regardless of where the character lies in the sequence. As each character is added to a word, the system predicts the entire word based on a stored dictionary, letter sequence probability, or previous user patterns. If the predicted word is not the one that the user intended, the use of another key allows the user to scroll through other possible choices and select the desired word. Creating alphanumeric entries in this manner eliminates the need for an entire keyboard; however, it can be a tedious and timely process.
The introduction of the touchpad has improved the efficiency of user interfaces. Touchpads not only allow a user to move a cursor on a screen, they also can be used in combination with handwriting recognition technologies for text input. Typically, a user writes characters or symbols on the touchpad using their fingertips or a stylus pen. The device is able to recognize these characters or symbols and input them as text. A problem with the current use of touchpads is the requirement of a dedicated area on the electronic device for the user to enter characters or symbols or navigate a pointer continuously, thereby creating a need for extra space. Touchpads also often require the use of a stylus pen, causing the user to need both of their hands to input data.